Granit Xhaka's relationship with Arsenal fans has been anything but straightforward, but ahead of what looks likely to be his final game in a Gunners shirt on Sunday, there is more than just a tinge of sadness among the Emirates faithful.
If you'd have told any Arsenal fan present for Xhaka's infamous on-pitch meltdown back in October of 2019 he'd remain at the club for another four years, let alone that his exit would be greeted with sadness and well-wishes, you'd have earned some strange looks from sceptical supporters.
And yet, against the odds, Xhaka has managed to oversee a remarkable turnaround.
The story of what happened that afternoon against Crystal Palace is by now well-documented. Upon seeing his number go up to signal his substitution, frustrated fans sarcastically cheered, which prompted a furious reaction from Xhaka.
Cupping his ears, frantically waving his arms and hurling back the same obscenities being shouted at him, Xhaka threw his shirt to the ground and stormed straight down the tunnel.
Many believed that was the last they'd seen of Xhaka in the red and white of Arsenal, but after then-manager Unai Emery was sacked just a month later and replaced by Mikel Arteta, the midfielder's redemption arc started.
With Arteta's 'arm round the shoulder' approached, Xhaka has been able to play his way back into the hearts of the Arsenal fanbase. He is thought incredibly highly of by his teammates and staff around the club, so much so that he was offered a contract extension in the summer of 2021, one he duly signed.
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But his relationship with those within the club's four walls was never the problem, it was the frosty relations between Xhaka and the fans.
As the man himself explained while speaking to the Players Tribune last year, his own initial response to the fall-out with supporters was to up and leave.
"My bags were packed. The passports were out," Xhaka admitted. "I was done with Arsenal. Finished. There was a contract on the table from another club, and all I had to do was sign. I had talked with my wife, Leonita, and we had decided to leave."
"I was shocked. I had never experienced anything like this," he added. "When I got close to the tunnel, I looked up at the fans sitting there -- and this is the part that I will always remember.
"When I close my eyes now, I can still see their faces. I can see their anger. It's not that they don't like me. No, it's different. This is hate. Pure hate."
Four years down the line and while it would be disingenuous to say it is nothing but love between the two parties, there is a strong sense of respect, which is all Xhaka ever wanted.
Sunday's home game against Wolves looks to be his last, as this time reported consultations with his wife over a rumoured return to Germany have inspired him to call time on his seven-year stay. It is fitting that Arteta looks set to sell Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen, now managed by Arteta's close friend Xabi Alonso, he knows the midfielder will be in good hands.
His Arsenal departure is yet to be officially confirmed, but Xhaka's recent remarks all point to the Emirates exit.
“If next week we know much more what happen with my future, I will be thankful for the fans because how they treat me after this [turnaround], I didn’t expect that if I am honest," he told Football.London.
"I am thankful for that and I want to give them something back [for] - maybe - my last game on Sunday.
He even commented on the revival of his relationship with supporters, adding: "Where I have been three years ago and where I am today, I think I grew up like a person, like a player and I got the respect back, what I think I deserve as well from the fans."
The feeling that greets Xhaka's imminent exit is a unique one. It certainly won't be the kind of fury that someone like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sparked, but he is unlikely to get the same outpouring of love as another of his former team-mates in say, Aaron Ramsey, who bid farewell the same season as Xhaka's public display of anger.
Should he ever return to the Emirates as an opposition player, there will be no booing or jeering. There is far more likely to be the odd cheer, but in truth, it is far more likely to be a simple head nod, a tip of the cap and an acknowledgement of both the good and bad times spent in the red half of north London.
For now, though, the full focus remains on his last hurrah against Wolves, where Xhaka will be out to end his turbulent Arsenal career on a positive note.
